Theater Of Blood

It's curtains for his critics!

This 1973 horror comedy stars Vincent Price as Edward Lionheart a Shakespearean actor who is tired of all the bad reviews he has been getting and decides to take it out on the critics who write them.  Diana Rigg (The Avengers) plays his daughter Edina, who helps him carry out his acts of vengeance.  The list of critics that he gets his vengeance on are played by Coral Browne (who Price would later be married to), Michael Hordern, Robert Morley, Dennis Price, and Arthur Lowe.  Every murder was based on a different Shakespearean play and after every death Lionheart would perform a monologue which gave Price a chance to play many characters from plays written by Shakespeare.  Price had always wanted to perform Shakespeare but had never gotten a chance due to being cast in so many horror films so this gave him a chance to fulfill this dream.

The film was directed by Douglas Hickox (Zulu Dawn, The Hound of the Baskervilles) and filmed mostly at the Putney Hippodrome in London which was built in 1906.  It was unused for several years before filming began for a decade giving it a natural depressed atmosphere.  The film is Price at his best and it may be one of his best performance.  The film is often compared to The Abominable Dr. Phibes due to the similarities in the story; i.e. a presumed-dead protagonist seeks revenge on nine intended victims with planned themed murders rooted in literature all with the aid of a young female sidekick.  I feel Theater is more of a comedy horror than Phibes is and I enjoy Price's work here more than in Phibes making Theater a more complete entertaining film for me.  This one is a little more gross and gory as it was rated R and Phibes is PG.

There are so many great scenes it's difficult to pick out just a few to talk about but I will mention at least two here.  First there is a sword fight between Price and Ian Hendry who plays an investigator from Scotland Yard that begins in a very threatening manner and quickly turns absurd as they continue their foil work on trampolines.  Trust me it's even funnier than it sounds.  The other scene I want to mention is a little more disturbing.  The scene features Robert Morely as one of the critics on Price's hit list.  Price plays a chef who has prepared a dish especially for Morely.  Price makes a pie for Morely which Price force feeds him.  The secret ingredient?  Morely's two pet poodles.  I give this one 4 and a half Critics' Circle Awards out of 5.  The Horror Honey must not be as big of a fan of Vinny as I am plus I don't think she liked the puppy pie scene very much either and she gave it 3 and a half.